Lasers are the opposite of losers. Lasers are shining beams of light that BURN through the darkness of ignorance. Lasers shed light on injustice and inequality. Losers stand by and let things happen. Lasers act and shape their own destinies. Lasers find meaning and direction in the mysteries all around them. Lasers stand for love and compassion. Lasers stand for PEACE. Lasers stand for progression. Lasers are revolutionary.- Lasers Are The Future -

To my mom, it was equivalent to a business arrangement. To my dad it was 'love at first sight'. I love their story however generic and simple it might have been, the bond they formed proved to become a phenomenal union. Here's a re-constructed modernistic twist to the beginning of their life:

- Aboo -

She was drop-dead gorgeous!At first, I heard alot of rumors about her. The manner in which her beauty was arrayed among conversations between fellow tribesmen only made me more eager to witness it with my own eyes. I wanted to find her. Coincidently, I did, a few days later I came to know that she was the sister-in-law of a good old friend of mine. I would often visit but never have the chance to see her, so I inquired more about her and found out she was an excelling student at a local nursing school. Brains & beauty?! Seemed like I struck a gold mine. Months had passed but I was yet to meet her until one fated day on a visit to their house. I was briefly left alone in the living room, not expecting to really see her, but there she was. She walked in with grace and a tray in her hand, said her salaams and quickly walked out. Even though it was but a mere few minutes, I was confident to say I was smitten. An angel on earth I thought. Now I had to have her. She was everything a queen should be. Words just can't do her justice. As I saw more of her, I grew restless. I wanted her to have my last name and give me daughters that looked just like her. I wanted to give her the world. I kept a close eye on her through her brother-in-law, my dearest friend. He would tell me of her ambitious hunger. Her drive to succeed and graduate. So I took it upon myself to help her, only without her knowledge and pay her school fees. Time faded and I waited but patience was wearing thin. In the end, I gathered all the might I could muster, wore my heart on my sleeve and finally approached her. & so we became.

- Hoyo -

Oh him?...He stalked me! lol I didn't know much about him and frankly he wasn't the most handsome guy in town either. He frequented my sister's house alot but I usually stayed in hiding. My sister praised him whenever she spoke of him. ''He's from a good family and a respected tribe. A self-made man of humble wealth'' she said, "You won't find anyone better and besides he's infactuated with you. That's always a good sign right?!'' But I wasn't convinced. I saw a bright future for myself. I wanted to become a doctor someday and I loved school. I didn't want to be tied down. Oppurtunity had windows and doors opened for me. So I ignored his existence for a few months until the day we officially met. It was my day off relaxing in my bedroom. Had the AC on blast and a book in my hand while the TV made a ruckus in the background. Just then, my brother-in-law requested I make tea for two as he was entertaining a guest (my sister happened to be MIA). So I did. I didn't need a rocket science degree to figure out what he was up to. For a slight second the thought of switching salt for sugar had slipped my mind, but dismisssed it and walked over to the living room. Lo' & behold brother-in-law was no where in sight. But 'HE' was - I mean, your father. Bald headed and awkwardly silent. It was clearly a set-up and I wanted no part of it! Seasons passed and I graduated Nursing school. I got a job at the hospital and studied further on the side. As for him, He finally popped the question after 2 years of hot-pursuit. Honestly, I still don't remember - why - I sed 'Yes'...But I never regretted it.

The six-year war between forces loyal to Sudan's government and rebels in Darfur has effectively ended, the UN's military commander in the region says.

Gen Agwai, who led a joint UN and African Union peacekeeping force known as Unamid, said the region now suffered more from "security issues" than full-blown conflict."Banditry, localised issues, people trying to resolve issues over water and land at a local level. But real war as such, I think we are over that," he said.

Let me sail in the ocean ofMy dreams; Wait until TomorrowComes, for tomorrow is free toDo with me as he wishes. YourLaying is naught but shadowThat walks with the spirit toThe tomb of abashment, and showsHeard the cold, solid earth.

"My project deals with the representation of Muslim women and their social condition... My Muslim women are represented in daily life situations: they are mothers, grandmothers and daughters, smoking, taking pictures and smiling."

"I discovered that I am the only artist in the street art movement that deals entirely with this topic. Isn’t it strange? In general, the woman is the best source of inspiration for artists, why Muslim women wouldn’t be the same?"

They are taken from actual images from the media and put out on the street, creating a higher visibility like the image of the Western woman.

Came across this and it got me thinking. We're (as in collective ''we'' who lack basic arabic know-how) always complaining about how hard it is to learn Arabic (Ok, maybe 'I' am just plain lazy), yet it's probably one of THE easiest languages to grasp in terms of grammar, concepts, dialect you name it. Besides since we're all exposed to the Quran from a young age (I'm assuming ofcourse), pronunciation becomes second nature!

It was the most spread out and comprehensive language at the time of Our Prophet (PBUH) and it still is plus it actually gave birth to the spectrum of world written and spoken languages today. The language itself is spoken throughout the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Mauritania, and Chad. Influences of it can be heard in English, Urdu, Somali, Indonesian, Malay, Hindi etc. It is the mother tongue of over 225 million people in Africa and Asia.

Ok, lemme quote the bit that caught my interest...

Smith meets a Muslim shopkeeper, also a native of Shandong, who spoke Chinese but was "ignorant of the written character. The whole sect appear to devote their studies exclusively to their own sacred language, the Arabic. His bold features, prominent nose, and restless eye, confirmed the fact of the distinct origin of this descendant of Ishmael."

From the evidence supplied by Smith, we learn that Muslim citizens of the late Qing / Manchu period (the last dynasty [1644-1912]), who were fluent in one or another of the Sinitic languages, were illiterate in Chinese characters but literate in Perso-Arabic script. This information is all the more stunning in light of the fact that Muslims in China developed a system of writing Sinitic languages (primarily one or another topolect of Mandarin [especially in the northwest], so far as I know), in Perso-Arabic script. This was called XIAOERJIN or XIAOERJING. Although the etymology of XIAOERJIN(G) remains uncertain, this Perso-Arabicization of Sinitic was important in the spread of Islam in China.

The above information would seem to indicate that it was much easier to become Sinitically literate in Perso-Arabic script than in Chinese characters.

According to Smith, in simpler terms, Arabic was easily accessible to the Muslim Chinese instead of their own native tongue. Also, Chinese characters are somewhat inspired via Arabic. W00t!

In the Quran, Allah (SWT) tells us:

"Behold, We have sent it down in all clarity, in the Arabic tongue, so that you might encompass it with your reason." [12:2]

"Behold, We have made it a Qur'an in clear Arabic language that you may fully understand." [43:3]

"Now if We had made it a Qur'an in a non-Arabic tongue they would surely have said, "Why is it that its verses have not been made clear? Why - a foreign tongue and an Arab?" Say, "For those who accept it, this is a Guidance and medicine for a wholesome life. But as for those who will not believe (Arabs or non-Arabs), in their ears is deafness, and so it remains obscure to them. They are like people who are called to from afar." [41:44]

Arabic and the message of the Qur’an cannot be separated and translators throughout the ages have tried to convey to the non-Arabic speaking people the beauty of the meaning of the Qur’an but have always called it ‘The translation of the meaning of the Qur’an’, emphasising the fact that the Qur’an’s direct translation is not possible, because so much of the potency and splendour of the words and their meanings which are inextricably linked to the Arabic language are lost in English or any other language. Indeed to even appreciate the poetic beauty of the Qur’an one needs to have an understanding of Arabic.

Imam ash-Shaafi’ee (rahimahullah) also said:"Therefore it is imperative that every Muslim should strive to learn Arabic as hard as he can, so that he can testify the shahada, and recite the Book of Allah and say the invocations that are mandatory upon him, such as the takbeer, tasbeeh, tashahud and other prayers. And the more he learns the language that Allah Himself chose to be the language of him who sealed the Prophets (sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam), and to be the language of His final revelation, the better it is for him!"

Anyway, hope that gets you motivated to learning it quicker Insha'Allah.

Granada's fortress-palace built by Spain's medieval Moorish rulers, has always fascinated visitors. But what messages do its intricately carved walls hold – poetry, philosophy or piety?

"There's perhaps nowhere else in the world where gazing upon walls, columns and fountains is an exercise so similar to turning the pages of a book of poems," says Juan Castilla, from the School of Arabic Studies at Spain's Higher Scientific Research Council.

The motto of the Nazrid dynasty – "There is no victor but Allah" – is repeated hundreds of times on walls, arches and columns. Isolated words like "happiness" or "blessing" recur, seen as divine expressions protecting the monarch or governor honoured in each palace or courtyard. Aphorisms abound: "Rejoice in good fortune, because Allah helps you," and "Be sparse in words and you will go in peace."

For centuries scholars spent half their life, and ruined their eyesight, scrutinising the messages embedded in the geometric tiles or finely carved in the stonework. Among them are verses by the acclaimed Islamic poets Ibn al-Khatib and Ibn Zamrak, some of which describe the place where they appear, such as the Hall of the Two Sisters, which represents a garden: "Moreover we do not know of any other garden/more pleasant in its freshness, more fragrant in its surroundings,/or sweeter in the gathering of its fruits..." wrote Ibn Zamrak.

The ceiling represented heaven: "The hands of the Pleiades will spend the night invoking/God's protection in their favour and they will awaken to/the gentle blowing of the breeze./ In here is a cupola which by its height becomes lost from/sight..." the poet wrote.

Asma Ahmed Shikoh is a visual artist who works with oils, acrylics and mixed media incorporating popular icons, cityscapes, and social issues in her imagery. “As an artist, my concerns have always been my immediate environment, especially the cities I’ve lived in. '' says Asma.

The work is a visual interplay of popular icons and the ‘hijab' (the head scarf adorned by Muslim women), highlighting the role of individual practices in the shaping of a unique national identity. It reflects her belief in the self empowering identity of American Muslim women.

- The Bee Hive -

Honeybees bear special mention in the Quran for their healing powers, with a chapter titled, The Bee (Chapter 16), in which it says:

"And [consider how] thy Sustainer has inspired the bee: "Prepare for thyself dwellings in mountains and in trees, and in what [men] may build [for thee by way of hives]; and then eat of all manner of fruit, and follow humbly the paths ordained for thee by thy Sustainer." [And lo!] there issues from within these [bees] a fluid of many hues, wherein there is health for man. In all this, behold, there is a message indeed for people who think!"

The significance of the beehive for this project is the fact that all the worker bees are females. The installation is formed of cells representing each of the women who have submitted the scarf. Each cell holds a scarf with the identity, occupation and location of the owner.

I can't think of any sign more bolder than the tsunami Subhan Allah, but even more astounding is the fact that many more signs followed after! Soon shall We show them Our Signs on the horizons and in their own beings until it becomes clear to them that it is the Truth. (Quran 41:53)In Indonesia's tsunami wastelands on the northern tip of Sumatra island, little remains of whole towns lost to the colossal forces that came thundering in from the ocean. But across these battered shores, dozens of mosques still stand, their minarets glinting defiantly in the sun - a phenomenon survivors in the deeply Islamic region credit as much to divine intervention as robust architecture.

Mosques are an everyday sight in most of Indonesia, but especially in Aceh, credited with the being one of Islam's main gateways into the archipelago of islands which now forms the world's largest Muslim-populated country.

Muhammad Yani stood on the roof of a mosque, watching the tsunami's churning waters surge past, roiling with people and debris."I was not afraid at the time," said Yani, 35, who later found out he had lost his parents and younger brother to the waves. "I was more aware than ever that my soul belonged to Allah."

Quakes, tremors, floods, fires, and explosions are all mentioned in the authentic traditions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as signs heralding the imminence of The Hour.

The sheer ferocity and fury of a tsunami definitely bring to our mind the Qur’anic depiction of the violent convulsions the earth is bound to undergo in its final quaking:

(When the earth is shaken violently in its (final) quaking, when the earth throws out its burdens, when man cries, "What is happening to it?"; on that Day, people will come forward in separate groups to be shown their deeds: whoever has done an atom’s weight of good will see it, but whoever has done an atom’s weight of evil will see that) (Az-Zalzalah 99:1–8).

"Nay, here are signs self evident in the hearts of those endowed with knowledge. And none but the unjust reject Our Signs. (Quran 29:49)

May the Beneficent Lord make such calamities not as a source of perdition for us in our faith but as experiences that are bound to enhance our faith and trust in Allah and His will.

Ok, I know I'm like really late with this...but if you know me, it's just one of my exquisite charms. Jokes aside, I didn't really want to watch the movie until all the hype died down so I wouldn't ultimately see the movie through rose-tinted glasses - if you know what I mean. As usual, my method always works...it's like surprising myself (lol) BOO! Anyway, after just watching it, I re-read reviews trying to find one that was atleast remotely relevant to the actual film but typically I couldn't find anything decent. All I found was a bunch of crap like...

"A cheerfully undemanding and unreflective film with a vision of India"The Guardian

''It takes your breath away at the same time as it makes you want to holler with joy or to grab the person next to you: Yes!"Telegraph

''Visually dazzling and emotionally resonant, Slumdog Millionaire is a film that's both entertaining and powerful.''Rotten Tomatoes

Ummm...Was there another version of this film or did we watch the same thing? - ''holler with joy'' - are you serious?

This movie would have fitted into every ''dark'' genre out there and only a sadistic psycho would have hollered with joy. I mean, it was full of child abuse, child-trafficking, implied rape, parent-murdering, excruciating police interrogation, gormless protagonists, poverty, psychotic arsonists, incessant whorage, corruption and perpetual deaths! Not to mention stupid moments like the one with the ''kind'' Americans (was I da only one to smirk during that scene?) and scenes like the one where they intentionally blind the street kid...the image has been forever burned into my psyche!

The brother's relationship was the worst yet, the 'shit' scene alone should speak for itself..*ughh - poor lil' sod* but it further carries on into his later life until the older brother opts to die in a bath of money (what exactly was the symbolism here?) sacrificing his life as a tact of ''kindness'' letting the girl go as if he wasn't the one who imprisoned her in the first place! W-T-Bollocks? Even that isn't in any way conceivable, the host of the show feeding him the wrong answer to the final question (which for some reason he doesn't choose), then selling him out to the police for assumed cheating?!...Dude, I could carry on for years!

All-in-all, it was far from ''uplifiting'', ''cheerfully undemanding'' or ''visually dazzling''. Oh, let's not forget the song/dance scene in the end which was like a horribly sarcastic ''ha-ha we just mentally phucked you'' two-step!

Out of the whole album (which is great btw), this has to be a personal favourite. I'm always into acoustics and cultural guitar sounds. The lyrics is so profound, truly poetic. I just love everything about this song!

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